ROANOKE, Va. - Thirty-five years ago Richard Williams went to work for what was then N&W CU, serving employees of Norfolk & Western and operating out of an office in the basement of the sponsor’s building. Williams is now retiring as CEO from what is now Member One CU, having overseen growth to $330-million in assets, 15 branches and 160 employees. Below, Williams offers his insights as he steps down.
CUJ: How did you come to be involved in the credit union?
Williams: I began working for the Virginia CU League in 1965 in various roles; field representative, education director and manager of the audit/data processing services. One of our clients, N&W Employees FCU’s board of directors, offered me the job of CEO (the first).
CUJ: As a railroad CU, your FOM must have had some unique needs and characteristics. What can you tell us about them?
Williams: Initially, we served only local railroad employees. As the railroad population was shifted to various geographical areas, we began receiving requests from employees who lived or worked in those areas. As an example, potential members worked at various railroad facilities in Norfolk, Va. some 250 miles across the state. In order to serve them, we opened our first branch office there. We received requests from the railroad’s sales offices throughout the country and began serving them by mail, fax and telephone. Since the railroad payroll department was located in Roanoke, we were able to offer services to railroad employees wherever they worked.
When N&W Railway and Southern Railroad merged in 1992, a new field of membership opened up and allowed us to provide services to potential members over a wide area. There were some 20 railroad credit unions serving basically the same employees. We merged two railroad credit unions located in South Carolina and West Virginia.
CUJ: How have the demands of members changed during your career?
Williams: Our members have always asked us to provide a full array of products, convenience and easy access to their funds, i.e., lines of credit. Some five years after my employment, credit unions began to offer share draft accounts. Our credit union was the first to offer share draft accounts in the state of Virginia and 37th in the country. This was an era when the old 6%-12% rate rules existed–pay 6% on savings and charge 12% on loans. Chase Manhattan was the payable-through bank that processed daily share drafts for credit unions. Many retailers were reluctant to honor share drafts because they were drawn on an out-of-town bank. We were able to convince local retailers that share drafts were basic checking accounts. We switched processing to the Federal Reserve Bank to enhance our operating efficiencies. Today, many members want fully automated services and to be competitive, we have to remain on the cutting edge of technology.
CUJ: What’s the best management advice you’ve ever received, and what would you advise others stepping into the CEO slot?
Williams: The best advice I received was to avoid trying to be all things to all people and don’t worry about issues over which you have no control. I would advise new CEOs to maintain an open-door policy with all employees and be available for them. Also, I would recommend that new CEOs treat planning and employee training as an ongoing process and not a one-time event. And, I would recommend that new CEOs develop a compassion for others, become more patient and don’t sweat the small stuff!
CUJ: What is your view on what the future holds for credit unions?
Williams: Mergers will continue to wipe out many small credit unions–we have merged 24 credit unions in my 35 years. Competition will become more intense among larger credit unions. Because of expanded fields of membership, credit unions will need to allocate greater funds for marketing and technology. Rules and regs will continue to choke credit union operations and governmental legislation will continue to be a drag on expenses, especially employee time.
